Xiaomi 12 Pro long-term review

Design, handling

Looking at it from the front, you'll definitely place the Xiaomi 12 Pro in the 'high-end Android phone, 2020-2022' mental category - and instantly so. The curved sides of the screen give away the fact that this most likely isn't a mid-ranger, while the small bezels all-round solidify the feeling that you're looking at a premium offering. So far so good, then.

Turn it over and you're treated to one of the most beautiful camera islands to appear in the past few years, in this reviewer's obviously subjective opinion. It's still an entire slab of glass and metal that looks like it's sitting on top of the phone's back, and so in a way it's still an eyesore because it breaks it up, literally as it were, but it's rather pretty to look at with its etched metal and subtle dividing lines between the various sensors and the flash.

The "50 MP" inscription is unneeded as all inscriptions on camera islands are, but at least this one isn't laid down in a shouty voice - gently etched into the metal, it's barely visible from some angles, plus it also fills the area it's in, which would have otherwise been weirdly empty compared to everything else that's around. Overall, it's a good look, and if you zoom out and look at the entirety of the phone's back, it just feels premium and somewhat professional-looking, if that makes any sense. Especially in our review unit's gray colorway, which plays with light in an interesting, subdued way.

The finish on the glass is frosted, and it feels great to the touch, but is slippery as a consequence. Not that we were expecting anything else, truth be told - more and more premium devices nowadays have adopted the matte or frosted glass look on their rears, and for good reason - these just look better, and definitely feel better, than going all-gloss. Another advantage is not showing any fingerprints, which would ruin the professional look.

Looks aside, the Xiaomi 12 Pro has a traditional glass sandwich design, with a tiny metal frame on the sides that grows larger at the top and bottom. We've seen something like this many times already, so we won't dwell upon it too much. The back glass curves into the sides at a similar angle to the front glass in a win for symmetry, and the phone is a bit top-heavy, but not so much that it becomes a nuisance in day-to-day use. Speaking of weight, the overall feeling of heft is just great - it's not too light so it doesn't feel cheap, but it's not unwieldy either. It comes in right at the goldilocks zone of around 200g, which we feel is perfectly suited for a device of this size.

Handling is a breeze if you are used to big, slippery phones, and let's face it - you probably are, since they're all big and slippery these days. In all seriousness though, unless you have small hands, it won't be an issue to use this on a daily basis. Because the camera island is so large, the handset only wobbles when used on a desk if you tap the top left side. That means typing is a breeze and won't be impeded by any wobbliness, which is good to see.

Case

There's a case in the box, which is always welcome, especially nowadays when a lot of manufacturers seem to want to put as few things as possible in the retail package. However, it's a very low-quality feeling jelly case, its only redeeming feature being that it fits perfectly, and all the holes are precisely where they should be.

Otherwise, it's really nothing to write home about, and it's a shame since Xiaomi used to bundle very high-quality cases with its phones a year or two ago. Now that's all gone and a case is better than no case, but competing brands like OnePlus and Oppo are offering much higher quality bundled cases with their flagships these days.

Speakers

The 12 Pro has what's become a rather traditional speaker setup for a Xiaomi device, with two grilles - one on the bottom, one on the top. The top one however isn't independent of the earpiece, it's basically just another outlet for sound to get out of.

This has the advantage of creating a fuller sound when playing media on your phone, but there's also the disadvantage of people around you being able to hear what the person you're calling is saying to you. That's a price Xiaomi deemed worthy of paying, and it may be right considering how many people are using Bluetooth headphones or earbuds these days, and yet it's still something worth keeping in mind.

The actual sound quality when playing media through the built-in speakers is pretty good - obviously you shouldn't expect to hear a lot of bass from such tiny openings, but for voices the job is done very nicely. The problem is the volume. It's not necessarily lacking, but there isn't a lot of it either - you'll constantly be around the top volume even in a reasonably silent environment.

Go outside on a busy street, or in a cafe, and you're practically guaranteed to have to max up the volume and either bring the phone closer to an ear or cup it with your hands so you force the sound to travel in your direction. This is slightly disappointing because a couple of years ago, the Mi 10 Pro impressed us with both sound quality and volume, but the 12 Pro unfortunately doesn't live up to that - it's not far behind in quality, but pretty discernibly less loud.

Vibration motor

The Xiaomi 12 Pro's vibration motor is among the best on the market right now, with very punchy vibrations that feel precise, deep and not tinny - if you yank up the Haptic feedback level slider all the way to the max, that is. It's a 'feel it more than you hear it' type, which basically the entire high-end Android device market is converging towards, and you will definitely not be left wanting here - unless you'd actually like to hear it a little bit more, in which case unfortunately you're out of luck.

Haptic feedback settings

MIUI still has a bunch of neat vibrations throughout the UI, although the number has been toned down in MIUI 13, but it's nice to have some gentle nudges here and there - they make the interface feel more tactile.